Spanish lavender and wildflowers

May is the time for Spanish lavender to bloom (lavandula stoechas), but you have to know where to look for it.  It loves growing near rocks, on rocky slopes, or even in the cracks of rock formations themselves.  It can survive in the poorest soil imaginable, and thrive!

  Here is lavandula stoechas in its natural habitat on a craggy incline behind our property.  The tall grasses are esparto, which are used in basket-weaving and to make the soles of espadrilles. 

Here is a plant next to a dirt road that seems to have been pruned into a topiary shape

by passing off-road vehicles.

 

 

Don't these little guys remind you of the Easter Bunny?

 

 

The first (and smallest) of the Spanish thistles are in bloom.

 

      

And just when you think that all of LaMancha's wildflowers are purple...

 

 

... you look up to find yourself in a sea of yellow.

 

 



 

Mi casa

We did it!  After two years, we've finally done it: we've hung up our house number!  Yes, amazon.com-package-wielding delivery men from all across La Mancha are rejoicing because that crazy American lady with that loco name has finally put a number on her house (although I do have to laugh - they now know me so well that I probably don't even need a house number anymore!).

Isn't it pretty?  We haven't hung up the wrought-iron lantern above it yet (the wall still hasn't been wired), but you get the idea.  During the winter, I planted wild mountain thyme and lavender (sounds like a Rosamunde Pilcher novel) in front, which will slowly fill in.  Best part is that they don't need watering because they're native.  And when I say native, I mean dug up from my backyard!

As you can see, things are slowly getting done... poquito a poco.

Now it's time to give credit where credit is due: if you are looking for a handmade tile house number, this one is from Cerámica Verónica (house number tiles), located in Cádiz.

And now that the wall is done, it looks like at least someone likes it!

 

Podarcis hispanica

Oh, go fly a kite!

It was one of those beautiful but blustery spring days, and I was out pulling weeds.  Youngest Son came to say that he was bored, so I asked him if he wanted to help me pull weeds.  Obviously, that was not part of his Wii-besotten mind's agenda, so he just kept complaining.  Then it dawned on me: "It's such a windy day, why don't you go fly a kite?"  Surprisingly enough, he did!  The next thing I new, the three men in my tribe were out with kites, and even the dog was getting in on the act.

And they weren't the only ones who thought it was a great day for flying...

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus!

If you are not American, you may not be familiar with the story of 8-year-old Virginia, who wrote a letter to the editor of The Sun newspaper in 1897 asking whether there was a Santa Claus.  And the Editor's reply?  A resounding "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus."

What neither I nor Virginia had never known was that Santa Claus lives in Tarragona, Spain!  Yes, it's true, and I have proof:

Who else but Santa could have sent me such a lovely package?

The only thing it was missing was a big, red bow!

All organized with plant name markers and seed envelopes.

Thank you, thank you Santa!

Bloom Day, April 2013

Apparently, on the 15th of each month, many gardening bloggers publish photos of what plants are in bloom in their gardens on that specific day, known as Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day.  While I do not consider myself strictly a garden blogger (more like a garden don't-I-wisher), I find it interesting to compare what's blooming here in La Mancha compared to, say, Texas or Sweden.

Here's what's happening in my garden today:

Lavandula stoechas   

Lavender is one of my favorite spring-time flowers because of it's color, shape, disease-resistance and scented leaves.  Today, however, the wild Spanish lavender is still not in bloom, but this garden-center variety is really spectacular.  I love the transparency of the upper crown of petals.

 

Daffodils

 

The daffodils are doing very well this year since we've had so much rain.  I have no idea what varieties these are, but the ones in the bottom photo are minis.  You can see they are smaller than a salvia bud.

 

   My pear tree.  I planted this 7 years ago and we've only gotten 3 pears out of it.  Our hot summer winds seem to dry the fruit up, but I don't have the heart to cut it down... yet.   

Durillo

 

Remember the raspberry-pink buds on the Tinus?  Well, now they've open to tiny white flowers.

 

 





       

On the kitchen porch, there's a mixed pot with snapdragons and purple freesia in bloom.

 

 

 Brassica napus and Anchusa

... and the rest of my garden is run amuck with, um, wildflowers.

 

Happy Easter!

 

  

Although it is not a Spanish tradition, my kids paint Easter eggs every year, and the Easter Bunny somehow does manage to find us.

 

Did you know that the word Hispania, which is what the Romans called Spain, is derived from a Phoenician word meaning "land of rabbits".  In La Mancha, they're everywhere!

They keep Luna entertained, but she's afraid to go after them because they're as big as she is!

 

My garden is slowly awakening.  Luckily, the rabbits don't like eating daffodils....

 

 

 ...nor do they care for iris.

 

The rabbits are also completely oblivious to weeds (I mean, wildflowers).

 

 

Most likely, many of you back home will be having a ham for Easter dinner.  Here in this little corner of pork-loving Spain, we usually have a cookout down by the reservoir...

  with seafood paella for 50 people!

 

 

 Happy Easter!

 

Sage cuttings

Well, while I may have had luck with hands-off rose propagation techniques this winter, I have found that the same lazybones approach has definitely not worked with my sage (salvia officinalis).  Sage does exceedingly well in La Mancha, or at least it does in my garden.  It withstands extreme sun and cold, provides healthy green color all winter long, blooms with pretty blue flowers in spring and is drought resistant but can also tolerate soaking wet clay soil (it kicks lavender's butt in this department).  To top it all off, rabbits can't stand it (although they might take a nap under it!).

So, my careless sage cutting scheme entailed simply shoving a 30cm sage branch into the ground.  The result was this:

 

Not one of the cuttings rooted.  Luckily,  I had so many cuttings that I also had planted some in pots with amended soil, et voilà!

Here you can see our lighter clay dirt layered with nutrient-rich potting soil.

 

Much better!